At the edge of the warm room, she hesitated. She did so quietly, careful not to interrupt him as his chest rose and fell in measured breaths. It was ironic because interrupting him is exactly what she came here for, but watching him now- face passive and fists together- she could quite bring herself to shake him.
Instead she leaned against the doorjamb and watched him, eyes following a blue line emerging from a pair of much-loved cotton pants once vibrant from their days in the kettle with saffron, now faded and worn. The blue line traveled up his back, following energy's pathway to his head, which suddenly dipped as a low grumbling left his mouth. His heavy sigh was followed by an intake of breath, shoring up the will to try again.
"Can't meditate on an empty stomach," she asserted finally. Tenzin jumped, sufficiently startled from his concentration. He spun around to see her, eyes wide.
"How long have you been standing there?" he wondered.
"Just a few minutes," she replied with a half-hearted shrug.
Tenzin absorbed her statement and then looked down at his hands, "How long have I been in here?"
"Almost three days," Lin intoned solemnly.
"Really?"
"No. You've only been in here for two hours," she supplied immediately with a smirk, "but two hours is long enough to miss dinner."
His shoulders sloped and he groaned, leaning forward to add another ladle full of water to the smoldering pile of coals he'd used to turn this meditation hut into a makeshift sauna. The steam that rose from the coals obscured him from her vision, but he spoke over the sizzling sound they created, "I'm not hungry."
The steam cleared and she remained against the doorjamb, causing Tenzin to let go of another one of his exasperated sighs, "Lin, if you don't mind…"
His eyes darted from her to the exit pointedly, "…I need to focus."
Never one for taking orders, Lin stepped inside, nearly choking on the stiflingly humid air. She persevered in spite of the heat and the look of annoyance on Tenzin's face as she took a seat just beside him, crossing her legs.
"Is this how it works?" she asked, putting the palms of her hands together just before her chest. She chanced a look out of the corner of her eye and caught his soft smile at her insistence as he reached over to adjust her hands. His long fingers curled over her own, balling her hands into fists gently.
"Press them together like this," he instructed softly.
Her cooperation touched him when it occurred here, without a hint of condescension or a sarcastic remark. She pressed her fists together inhaling a breath, allowing him to lead. It was the equivalent of a proud animal rolling onto it's back to display trust and Tenzin accepted her gesture gratefully.
"Straighten out your back," he continued, running one hand along her spine until it bent slightly inward.
"Exactly like that," he assured. His hands left her and returned to his lap, "feel the energy of the universe flowing through you."
Lin was quiet, sitting bolt upright, ready to receive the wisdom of the ages and sweat it back out again. Tenzin continued, "Breathe in and breathe out…"
Her eyes fluttered open and she scowled at him, "I know how to breathe, Tenzin."
Tenzin nodded, returning to his own routine quietly.
They sat in silence.
Time passed slowly, but Lin remained beside Tenzin, meditating. After awhile, she felt his hand on her back again, "You're doing great, but you could stand to straighten out again."
Her rolling eyes opened and she looked at him without amusement, "I'm trying to help you."
It was then that he truly deflated, lying back on the wooden floor hopelessly, "I can't focus with you in here."
His tone bordered on whining and Lin's eyes rolled again, but she said nothing- waiting for him to continue, as she knew he would.
"I can't focus in general," he finally admitted, throwing one arm over his face so that it covered his eyes.
Lin reached out, tugging on his elbow until his arm slid away from his face, forcing him to look her in the eye, "Why are you doing this to yourself?" she demanded.
He held her stare for a beat before moving his forearm back in place across his eyes, "Winter Solstice is coming."
Lin looked around at the steam undulating throughout the small wooden hut, "Could have fooled me," she mumbled, "Why are you keeping it so hot in here anyway?"
"Tummo Meditation," he replied.
Lin's eyes narrowed, as her brow lifted skeptically, "Isn't that heat supposed to come from within?"
Tenzin sighed from behind his limp forearm, "I thought it might help move things along."
Since he couldn't see her, Lin didn't feel too badly about the laugh she barely managed to suppress through two thinning lips. His dogged determination was admirable and his creativity impressive, but it was moments like these that proved a never-ending source of teasing in their relationship. Lin let this one slide, instead gaining his attention by gripping the end of the sash that thread through the waist of his pants.
She pulled on the end quickly and the sash followed, winding around his body and away into her hands. His eyes shot open in surprise as his arm hit the floor and he watched her gathering her dark hair from the back of her neck, tying his sash around it. He didn't say a word as she tightened the knot and fanned the back of her neck once before lying beside him on the floor.
"What does the Winter Solstice have to do with anything?" she asked finally, turning her head in his direction.
Tenzin responded by rolling onto his side to catch her eye, "It's the one day of the year that our world and the spirit world are closest. It is the best chance I have for breaking through. I have to practice. I need to be fully relaxed."
Lin's eyebrow lifted as she too, rolled onto her side, "Relaxed?" she asked with a small chuckle as their noses nearly touched, "then yes, you will need a lot of practice."
Tenzin scowled, "said the pot to the kettle."
Lin shrugged, "Metalbending doesn't require me to relax."
The reference to metalbending in her statement was all Tenzin needed to hear to understand she knew exactly where all his stress was emanating from. He was missing meals and losing sleep, all in an effort to fill a pre-ordained expectation of what he was born to be. Lin could relate- they both had pretty big shoes to fill after all.
"This is supposed to come naturally to me," he told her somberly. His face was the picture of concern and Lin had to berate herself for finding the way his lower lip protruded from his pout so endearing.
She caught it with a quick kiss, pleased to discover her movement had interrupted his circular thoughts of self-pity, at least for a moment.
"I'm one of only two living Air Nomads," he continued finally, "which makes me the only Air Nomad in existence who can't travel into the spirit world at will."
Lin clicked her tongue in disapproval. No matter how often she reminded him that an Airbender is not the same thing as an Air Nomad, he continued to identify himself as such. His Watertribe heritage didn't seem to factor in. As far as Tenzin was concerned he was the sole heir to the Air Nomad culture and he would learn it, practice it, live it out- even at the expense of his own happiness.
"I don't think I can take another Solstice having to see that look on my father's face," he concluded.
"Consider yourself lucky. If I wasn't performing I got the look, the lecture, and sometimes the rock slide," Lin offered with humor. It didn't brighten Tenzin's face at all. Instead he reached over, sliding his hand along her jaw until it settled just at her ear, fingers twining in her sweat-soaked hair. His thumb brushed her cheek sympathetically before he leaned in for another kiss, much deeper than the first.
Lin broke away from their kiss, murmuring against his lips, "I thought you needed to focus."
"Mmm, I told you I can't focus with you here," Tenzin joked against her mouth in return.
Lin pushed him back with a laugh and sat up, wagging one finger at him, "No. I'm leaving. It's for your own good."
Tenzin threw his hands up in disbelief, "What?"
"I can tell this is really important to you," Lin explained, grounding their conversation back in reality, "so I'm going to get you something to eat and leave you to it."
Tenzin looked up at her with a smile, "Thank you."
His words were simple, but much more passed between them in that phrase- gratitude, love, and understanding of the deepest kind.
"Besides its too muggy in here anyway," she concluded unceremoniously as she stood. Tenzin laughed lightly at that, suspecting the heat was the more probable cause of her decision to depart.
She made her way to the doorway, turning to face him when she reached it. Her hands found the back of her head, undoing the saffron fabric knotted in her hair. She tossed it back to him, "bring me something back from the Spirit World?"
Tenzin nodded once, "If I make it-"
Her hand flew up, halting his sentence, "I said, 'bring me something back from the spirit world.'"
Tenzin smiled softly, nodding once in appreciation for her unwavering confidence in him.
She turned to go, but was stopped by his voice, "Lin?"
She turned back to him, "Hmm?"
"I love you."
"Yeah, I'm still not coming back in there," she insisted, exiting finally.
Tenzin laughed as she disappeared from the room, taking a deep breath as he finished. His head was clear, his spirit lifted- he was finally relaxed. In her own way, Lin had centered him, allowing him the confidence to continue toward his life's goal.
And yet, as the thought of her returning flashed across his mind, he realized Lin Beifong would never truly allow him a moment of focus as long as he lived.